happy new year everyone. it's 4:00 in east. donald trump has escaped accountability and defied the laws of political gravity not because he's powerful or skilled or compelling but because he's stupid that's how the story has gone now. too stupid to collude a constant refrain. too hapless to obstruct the mueller probe. too hallepless to do anything criminal. that's the story that trump senior white house staffers told when they called any one of us to carve themselves out of the harsh lens of history and here's what it led. trump in an hour long phone call

with georgia secretary of state hunting for 11,000 votes he didn't receive directing him to fabricate votes that continue exist. threatening the republican secretary of state if he didn't comply. it's replete with trump's hall marks, bullying, pressuring, lies, misinformation but important to point out right upfront trump sounds exactly the same when he users his five words made to prove he doesn't have dementia as he does potentially committing criminal voter fraud, incoherent and clueless but at this point not point to. for reasons ever understanding what the gop has ushered in by standing by trump we're going to play some of that extraordinary tape from donald trump's call with georgia secretary of state yesterday. first recorded on and published by the "washington post" and

later obtained by nbc news. listen. >> so look all i want to do is this. i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. because own the state and flipping the state is a great testament to our country. the people of georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry. and there's nothing wrong with saying that, you know, that you've recalculated because the 2236 in absentee ballots, i mean they are all exact numbers that were done by accounting firms, law firms, et cetera. and even if you cut them in half, cut them in half and cut them in half again it's more votes than we need. >> well, mr. president, the challenge that you have is the data you have is wrong. >> it doesn't pass the smell test because we hear they're

shredding thousands and thousands of ballots and now what they are saying oh, we're cleaning up the office. you know. >> well, mr. president, the problem with social media -- >> oh, this isn't social media. this is trump media. it's not social media. it's really not. it's not social media. i don't care about social media. i couldn't care less. social media is big tech. big tech is on your side. you know. i don't even know why you have a side because you should want to have an accurate election and you're a republican. >> we believe we do have an accurate election. >> that really happened. and what you just heard was just a small portion of an astonishing one hour and two minute exchange. "washington post" describes the totality of the conversation this way. quote the rambling and at times incoherent conversation offered a remarkable glimpse of how consumed and desperate the president remains about his

loss. unwilling or unable to let the matter go. and still asserting he can reverse the results in enough battleground states to remain in office. trump's pressure campaign on raffensperger is the latest example of his attempt to subvert the outcome of the november 3rd election. pressured george governor brian kemp in a call to try to replace that state's electors and asked the speaker of the pennsylvania house of represents reverse his loss. for anyone out there wondering just how bad trump's conduct is, well so bad that former vice president dick cheney and ien other former secretaries of defense, in fact every living person who has ever overseen the pentagon has penned an op-ed an warned against any military action. why 0 would they do that?

why do they have to do that? well, maybe because 12 republican senators have taken up positions hostile to the american democracy. 12 republican senators came out this weekend in opposition to what is supposed to be a formality, certification of the electoral college vote. our friend tom nichols calls them a sedi the the iorc -- sedetion caucus. an election whose results came before judges appointed by democrats and republicans. an election result that has been investigated, counted, recounted and verified by every single person and every single entity that has looked at it. the president's abuse of power and the caucus that continues to

green light his dangerous assault on american democracy is where we start today. "washington post" national investigative reporter and msnbc contributor and joining us an degr -- andrea weisman and john holland is back. i want to start with you and i want to congratulate you and your colleagues on this extraordinary scoop. just take me through -- just tell me what it's like when you get your hands on something like this which, for me, i've been covering donald trump for five years since he descended the escalator and landed on the top of the field of 17 republicans but i never heard him like this. did you guys know what you had and what did you think of what was on that tape? what did you think it was? >> well, i described it yesterday when i first heard

about it as trump equivalent to the 18 missing minutes in nixon white house those tapes. that's how serious this is, and you're summary and lead in really captures how dramatic it is. hats off to my colleague amy gardner who has been toiling like a good beat reporter or beat cop for months in georgia and other place, went after source and got this exclusive material. i want to stress something. everybody on this panel and, you among all of us know this best. everyone has seen and heard the president say things that have this ring of a mafioso threatening, cajoling, threatening, you'll be investigating, you're a republican, you should do what i said. all of this language using the strong arm tactic and we've all

seen these events unfold. jim comey being demanded loyalty. rod rosenstein told to shut down the russia probe. john kelly being told to give jerry kushner a clearing despite his ability to keep the nation's secrets. we know these things have happened but hearing them on tape 24 hours, less than 24 hours after they happened, it's chilling. >> it really is chilling and andrew and i always follow everything you tweet but i pull you up by name to follow the legal story pinpoint seems to have put in motion really big questions about whether there's even more pressure now in an

incoming justice department to investigate crimes and there might be some pressure on the state of georgia. can you take us through what those crimes are and where the exposure lies for the president. does anyone else on that call have the same exposure? >> sure. so in term of the litany that carol laid out and i would add to that the ukraine call which led to impeachment which is remarkably similar the difference now is one of timing. his presidency is about to be over and you're exactly right that there's now a really different level of pressure on the new administration as to what it's going to do. in other words will it be okay for the president to do what happened here the precedent of not being accountable. there are federal and state laws that make it a crime to tamper

improperly with an election, and those all come down to the intent of the actor. so, you know, if the president were acting where he genuinely believed that there were people who voted for biden who should not legally have been counted, if he had those facts or good faith belief then that would be a valid defense both under federal and state law, but i could give you a mini summation just from that hour tape leaving aside his motive and all of the other crime evidence, all of the other actions that carol laid out that make it clear that there's sufficient evidence to at the very least open an investigation. remember right now the decision is not should he be charged, it's should there be an investigation. and at this point it's conducive

to democracy to have a president who is not held to account. that really is the situation that changes where we are now than where we've been for four years where we've seen the president engaging exact same conduct, but now there's something we can do about it. >> well, let me just push you a little further because andy mccabe lost his job. jim comey lost his job. all your former colleagues and a lot of instances your friends for thinking that there was cause to investigate this president. and here we are. i mean it sort of leaves all the people whose reputations we s l bit -- obliterated. >> when i first read jim comey's book and he described the

president as like a mob boss and i prosecuted mob bosses i thought oh, at the time jim that's hyperbole, how can you say that and i didn't take it seriously and then living through these past four years everything that carol laid out, to me i think jim got it exactly right. i mean it is chilling to hear on the tape the president say to a sitting secretary of state of georgia that, you know, essentially criminal things can happen to you and also this is going be bad for your career and, remember, you're a republican. all sorts of things if he was actually had a good faith belief here you would never need to threaten any of that. you basically just go to reason and lay out the actual facts. but we know from 60 lawsuits that have all been dismissed there are no facts to do what

the president wanted. to give the weed of the legal issue, i was very interested in what trump's lawyers were doing on the call because that could have been a potential defense for trump. gee, if i was saying something improper then i thought my lawyers could step in but the there's such a huge disconnect between what his lawyers are asking for and what trump is asking for. his lawyers were repeatedly saying we just want access evidence to. you're telling us you did all of this. we just want to double check. that's not what the president asked for. the president says no, no that's not what we need, actually cuts off his lawyers and says i want actually you to fine just 11 votes that will put me over the top. he's not dhoioing this as a procedural issue. his lawyers could be quite

damning witnesses against him and similarly i would think a good investigation would look to the department of justice to see what kind of pressure the president putin on the department to do exactly what he was trying to do here in this phone call. >> you know, john holland, i have a million questions for you too. first, i feel like you and i have covered so much of this trump story together and take a stab at answering why this one makes me more mad than all the rest. this trump story, i sat and listened to the whole call and i had to start it over three or four times. he sounds the same, like something is wrong with him. we know there is. but i wonder -- you've interviewed him multiple times. what did you think when you heard the tape and speak about the secretary of state of georgia. it seems this tape will be around a lot longer than anybody

will care about donald trump's presidency. >> yeah. happy new year. >> happy new year. >> i got to say, i think -- what a way to start. i think it's true that the tape has -- you got to listen to it first of all. reading the transcript doesn't do it. got to listen to the full hour as hard as it is because you get a picture of trump that's very consistent as carol said that ma if i an don thing and we heard it virus tapes of trump. here's a guy who has been undone by tape in a way like no other president has been undone. we see and heard more words out of trump, we've seen trump more than any other president in a one term president ever in history so we're very familiar with certain aspects it. i do think there's a different quality to this. part of it gets to what made it

hard for you to listen to. there's a bunch of "d" words that come to mind. there's the desparation in his voice. there's the derangement and delusion. he clearly has come to believe more than he did months ago back in middle of november. he's come to believe more reporting suggests that he actually believe these conspiracy theories because it's not a political ploy. he believes the craziyest of the conspiracy theories. the derangement, the delusion, the detachment from reality, the thing he said a second ago, he sounds damaged. he sounds like a damaged person and there's something deeply unnerving and upsetting about hearing a president of the united states in these file days when all of us are counting the minutes that we hope we can escape safely with the country in tact by january 20th the level of damage that's on display.

you think to yourself what wouldn't this guy do and that's part of why this whole thing is so unnerving. last thing i'll say and you mentioned this in your open and this is not to forgive him or create excuses for him but how dumb could you be, right? brad raffensberger has been on television twice saying i voted for the president but we got our election right. we've done audits and we're standing by our results. i'm not going bend, i'm not going break. donald trump made 18 phone calls to get him on phone. when he finally gets him he does call not apparently thinking for a moment he might be taped. after all the previous instances in which trump is taped, "access hollywood," all these other things that cause trump damage he says it all anyway and spills it all out and raffensberger

says i won't put this out unless he lies about me. the stupidity on display that he thought this was narcotic. this was the guy who he thought he could get to do him a favor and find him 11,000 notes to steal election. how much of a moron is this dude. if you put it together in one package how could you not be between you're inured to donald trump, how can you not be just like man that guy was president for four years? >> let me push on this open door. so that guy now has 12 republican senators taking up his cause. i mean wednesday will be a debacle because that guy who i

agree with the way you just described, these 12 people, ted crews, ron johnson, james lankford, john kennedy, roger marshal, cynthia loomis, josh haul l hawley, mike braun are going to stand against the american democracy, against the 60 judges, against the history that caroline talked about, they will defend the coup attempt. explain that. >> they are going to defend the coup attempt even after hearing this tape. they are not just going defend the coup attempt they are still going defend this coup attempt and stay tuned for it and wear this thing for the rest of their lives this, vote that they are going to have to take or multiple votes they have to take. they are begging to take. they are going to wear this for the rest of their lives even

after hearing this tape and seeing the corruption on display, they are still going to do it. i got to say, i said this to you the other day i think maybe not on air but i'm grateful for josh hawley because i think it is good for the country to see, to get these people on record. we're at that place right now where knowing who is on team democracy and who is on team coup. who is on team subversion are of democracy. we need to know this. the you're a republican of if i stripe or anyone else to have these people to have to go on the record and declare themselves in a recorded vote in united states senate and in house, have to live with that for the rest of their lives having decided that their personal political ambitions are more important the home than the foundations of the democratic experiment that we've been part of now for all of these years, without interruption, i think it's good for us to know who they are and i think if i were a

republican who was part of what is now clearly going be a vicious bloody and definitive in the end transformative civil war for the party, whether you're on the mitt romney side, on the pat toomey side or on the side with these clowns and dangerous clowns, these coup abettors i think it's good for republicans, if you're a republican who wants to try to reform the party if that's possible at this point it's good for to you know where the dividing line is and who is on which side. that's where we are right now. it's a fundamental threat to everything in some ways that having the clarity that this vote will bring is a valuable thing even though it's entirely upsetting, disturbing and profoundly demoralizing as i know all people on this shore, some people who believe in democracy and institutions that held this country together since its founding.

all right. i'll make everyone in my control room cringe. i have a stack of stories i want you to get on. i'll ask you all to stick around. gabriel terminology went to the microphone several weeks back and said these lies will lead to violence somebody will get shot. he responded today and fact checked point-by-point all of trump's lies and disinformation from that call. we'll play that. we're waiting for biden to speak in georgia. he's there stomping for the democratic candidates there. we'll take that live when that starts. we're also as we said it's election eve both parties bring out their heavy hitters in this final sprint for tomorrow's runoff. nothing much at stake except control of the u.s. senate. we'll also continue our live coverage of trump's latest perfect phone call sure to play a big part in that race. also biden's remarks as they start. plus more on that remarkable

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but before we sign i gotta ask... sure, anything. we searched you online and maybe you can explain this?

i can't believe that garbage is still coming in. that is so false! frustrated with your online search results? call reputation defender today to join tens of thousands who've improved their online reputation. get your free reputation report card at reputationdefender.com or call 1-877-866-8555. happened in that phone call was an attack on democracy? >> i'll leave other people to make a decision on that. i personally found it to be something not normal, out of

place, and nobody i know who would be president would do something like that to a secretary of state. >> that was the man we just told you about georgia elections official gabriel sterling reacting today to that extraordinary phone call we've been discussing in which donald trump, the president for a couple more days pressured georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger to find 11,000 votes that he would need to reverse the election result in that state. important point to out, still wouldn't turn into a win. sterling fact checked donald trump's false claims of fraud point-by-point. caroline and andrew weisman and john holland. thank you for stick around. caroline, we didn't get to talk about brad raffensperger, and i know that he was recording it for the purposes of telling the truth, of fact checking, something that jim comey's memos sought to do.

frankly melania trump's girlfriend wanted to tape conversation with her. i wonder to what to you the portrait is of raffensperger and sterling and these statewide republicans looks like? >> what a profile in courage. i mean hum rungs below the president of the united states is the georgia secretary of state. 30 rungs? yet he calmly, patiently, consistently rebuts the president, discredited conspiracy theories, whacky claims, inconsistent factual assessments with just basic fact. one of his best lines was, you know, we just actually -- you have a challenge, mr. president, which is your fact and data are not right. and that is something that actually goes right to your first point which is this is a

president who has consistently not paid any cost. there have never been any consequences for any of his actions that cross the line, that abuse his office. why is that? because republicans and congress are afraid of him and afraid of the voters that he can command and afraid of losing their jobs. and so what have they done? they consistently let him do exactly this, abuse his office. but a georgia state official had the guts to say no. and i think that this should make everyone in washington, reporte reporters, politicians, pundits, law prove so, prosecutors, it should make us think about the good faith that's expected in our democracy. what's that good faith that a government official will do the right thing and in fact government official has some mischievous or malevolent

intention another government official will block it and say sorry we can't do that. it took to us get down to georgia to get that answer. >> it is remarkable. another piece of reporting that has come out of nbc news is as disastrous as this call appears to have been for donald trump and potentially exposing him criminally, he tried really, really hard to have it. nbc news is reporting this was the 18th -- there were 18 previous attempts by trump to speak with raffensperger. what does that say to you and we have this tape because this official didn't plan to bend to trump, we don't know of any that do, but it wouldn't have changed the electoral vote count. what do you think when you heard there were 18 tries to talk to him. is this what trump has been doing since his election loss? >> two things. one as an investigator, you

know, you say i want to know who else he put the arm on. who else did doe this with? it would show in doing it with georgia and this state alone would not give him election, so the second is the insistence is reflected on the call. if you listen to the other participants on the white house side they seem uncomfortable and conassistantly trying to shift away from what the president is saying to things that are much more procedural, all we want is access. there's a disconnect between good faith requests by some white house lawyers and what you have the president doing. as i mentioned, i think that is a really damning fact. and on the other side, i think what you see here is somebody who is acting by way of

principle. in other words, democrats and republicans who are willing to just act because it's the right thing to do and they believe in democracy and what's so shocking is we've come to that point in the world where this is something we call out as noble when it should be expected of everyone. you and i have served in administrations and we all understand policy differences, but this idea that people would still ask out of principle and they wouldn't speak to undermining an election, they wouldn't make calls to yeveryon k -- -- ukraine, this disrespect for principle where right mix with right on one side of the call and then acting out of true

conviction as americans first rather than a democrat or republican. >> to that end, yon holland, before i start and you answer let me just tell our viewers what we're watching for, biden is about to take the podium and issue campaign closing remarks on behalf of jon ossoff and raphael warnock. so if that starts and i interrupt john holland everyone gets mad when i interrupt john holland. let me read this reaction. he said we now have irrefutable proof of a president pressuring and threatening an official of his own party to get him to rescind a states lawful certified vote count and fabricate another in its place. what do you think? >> he yeah.

as people in politics know, bob bauer, premier election lawyer, he's somebody who understands the theory of election law and at the academic level, he's been general counsel for presidential campaigns in way ginsberg has been on the republican side. bob has seen a lot of stuff. i think what he puts his finishing own there is that this tape pulls together a unified picture something we had evidence of, something we had pest of the puzzle before, but it just brings in one hour it paints the perfect and i say perfect in sense of perfectly clear picture of everything about what we know, we thought we believed and seen threw a glass what donald trump was

capable of, what he was willing to do and how little respect he has for the basic precepts for how elections are to work. >> thank you all for stick around for longer than i know we asked to you. i wanted to talk to all of you since this story first broke in the "washington post". as we've been saying we're moments away from joe biden's rally in georgia. we'll listen in to what he has to say. its his first public comments after trump's hour long phone call pressuring state officials in georgia to rig election he already lost. don't go anywhere. ♪ we made usaa insurance for veterans like martin. when a hailstorm hit,

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any moment now joe biden will take the stage at a rally in atlanta for democratic senate candidates jon ossoff and raphael warnock. we'll bring it to you live as soon as it starts. president trump is expected in the state of georgia later tonight just as he's ensured the final hours of the high stakes georgia senate campaign which will determine which party controls the u.s. senate will be about him. and his attempt to arm twist georgia's secretary of state into overturning trump's loss there. here's one of the democratic candidates jon ossoff responding to the nufs trump's call. >> at this moment, when the

president of the united states calls up georgia's election officials and tries to intimidate them, to change the result of the election, to disenfranchise georgia voters that's an attack on our democracy and if david perdue and kelly loeffler had one shred of integrity they would be out here defending georgia voters from that kind of assault. >> joining us now, washington correspondent for the atlanta general constitution and msnbc political analyst white house reporter for the associated press. let me start with the view from georgia. how is this playing there? >> well, it's -- you know, i think given democrats even more of a reason to turn out. they are very bothered by the call. they think it's evidence that

president trump is trying to steal the election from joe biden. but on the republican side they are either ignoring it or some republicans are even coming to president trump's defense even after the call. so for both sides it's almost become a rallying cry that speaks to them based on what they already want to hear. >> i listened to the whole call. i'm sure did you too. this is your beat. there's nothing in the call about two republican senators on the ballot tomorrow night it's just about trump. is there an expectation anywhere that tonight's remarks will be about the two republicans on the ballot or will they be about donald trump? >> the short answer is no. there is not an expectation that it will be much about the senate candidates. look there will be lines in the script. there will be lines in the teleprompter he'll read. certainly he'll encourage georgians to cast their ballots

for these two candidates. but that's not what tonight is about. it's about his grievance. about his claims of election fraud. over the weekend after his call with georgia secretary of state, the president in a fit of anger suggested that he would cancel tonight's rally, he would pull out from the rally which set off alarm bells throughout the republican party. this could be damaging to the hopes of perdue and kelly loeffler to win those race. the president was convinced to forge forward. he'll be, we believe, boarding air force one in a while and heading to georgia but he made clear with his tweet what he in tends to do and that is go over the quote real numbers, these numbers are not real in term that he says he won georgia and how. so the expectation is indeed he'll spend his speech talking about how he won that state and election as a whole sway continued dangerous undermining

of the democratic traditions of the peaceful transfer of power, undermining in some americans eyes legitimacy of joe biden's election and not helping those two republicans at all. >> yeah. i mean all very good points. we think joe biden is heading to the podium now. let's listen in. ♪ >> hello, hello, hello. it's good to be back. it's good to be back. let's hear it for ally and the great lineup of entertainers

you've had. you probably disappointed hearing us speaking. we'll get the entertainers back out here. i must say for stacy abrams nobody in america has done more for the right to vote the than stacy. stacy, you're changing georgia. you've changed america. i want to personally thank you again. so let's hear it for the next public service commissioner, daniel blackman. i don't know where daniel is but i know he's here. look, one of the best mayors america has, and my good friend kesha lance bottoms. i love her. i tell you. let's hear it for the next united states senator jon ossoff

and raphael warnock. they are talented. they are principled. they are qualified. they are decent. they are honorable. they mean what they say. and they believe what i believe in definition of america is, it's about possibilities. unlike any other nation in world. anything is possible. there have been justice and hope and progress and that's not hyperbole, it's real. this is it. it's a new year. tomorrow can be a new day for atlanta, for georgia, and for america. first, let me start by saying thank you for electing me and kamala as president and vice president of the united states. you voted in record numbers in november. your voices were heard.

your votes were counted. the rule of people prevailed. we won. three times here. [ laughter ] i three counted. we should count it as three states not three times. now we need to you vote again in record numbers. to make your voices heard again. and again to change georgia. to change america again. and this is not an exaggeration. georgia, the whole nation is looking to you, for real. you know it. you can't turn on any national television show without knowing about what's going on here and what you all are doing. the power, the power is literally in your hands unlike any time in my career. one state. one state can chart the course, not just for the next four years but for the next generation.

by electing john and rafael you can make a difference in your own lives. the lives of people all across this country because their election will put an to end the block in washington that $2,000 check that money will go out immediately to people who are in trouble. putting food on the table. paying rent. paying your mortgage. paying down the credited card. paying your phone bill the gas bill the electric bill. just look around. millions of people in this country out of work through no fault of their own, no fault of their own. they are struggling. many are fearful. and many have given up hope. look at the lines at food banks. hours and hours and hours. this is the united states of

america for god's sake and there are food lines like we've not seen since the depression. they are getting longer. families, children, people that have worked their whole lives and never asked for a thing except a fighting chance. now they are lining up for food in america. and the debate over $2,000 isn't some abstract debate in washington it's about real lives. your lives. the lives of good hard-working americans. and if you're like millions of americans all across this country you need the money, you need the help and you need it now. look, georgia there's no one in america with more power to make that happen than you the citizens of atlanta, the citizens of georgia. and that's not an exaggeration. that's a literal, that's

literally true. if you send john and warnock to washington those checks will go out the door restoring decency and hope for so many people struggling right now. and if you send senators perdue and kelly loeffler back to washington those checks will never get there. it's just that simple. the power is literally in your hands. by electing john and raphael warnock you can break the gridlock that's gripped washington and this nation. with their votes in senate we'll be able to make the progress we need to make on jobs, on health care, on justice, on the environment and so many important things. by electing john and raphael warnock you'll get the states the resources they need to get the vaccines distributed. it's a shame what's happening now. it's a literal shame.

i've said it before. getting america vaccinated will be one of the most difficult operational challenges this nation has ever faced but we've noted for the last months this administration has gotten this gotten off to a god awful start. the president spends more time winding and complaining than doing something about the problem. i don't know why he still wants the job. he doesn't want to do the work. look, the states need help. there is a reason why the constitution said the federal government could have a deficit spending in times of crisis. and states have to balance their budgets. it is very thing, the whole idea, your states have to balance your budgets. and what is happening. you're going to see more and more people laid off, more firefighters, police officers,

school teachers, first responders, the people we need badly now, the states need nor money to do the job. they need the federal government that will work with them, not attack them and leave them out there hanging. it is going to be tough to get this done. we have to do it. people's lives literally depend on it. our economy depends on it. and we'll get it done by elected jon and the reverend to get the local federal government money they need to keep firefighters and teachers and local responders and looking out for you and your children. look, states have been struggling through the pandemic, they need help. and you'll send a powerful message to congress and the country that it is final for this nation, for god's sake, to finally come together. to work together. to unite. to put the anger and the

division and the divisive politics of the past behind us. an here is one more thing. voting for jon and the reverend won't just be good for america, it is good for georgia and here is why. when you vote for jon and rafael, you'll be spending two senators who will fight for you, who will put georgia first, who put you first. you don't have that now. you have two senators who thinks it is more important to reward wealth than hard work, you have two senators now who think they don't work for you, they work for trump. i mean it. think about it. you have two senators who think they're loyalty is to trump not to georgia. you have two senators who think they've sworn an oath to donald trump. not to the united states constitution. let me tell you something, i got elected when i was 29 years old

and six more times from delaware and guess what? not once did i think i took an oath to any president, democrat or republican. i took an oath to the united states constitution. then as president, i don't believe you're united states senators will work for me. they work for the people of georgia. that is why i'm not asking your senators to be loyal to me. i believe they should be loyal to you, to georgia, to the united states constitution, period. and if you vote for jon and the reverend, that is what you're going to get. decent, honorable men. they won't put a president or party first. and they sure won't put themselves first. they know public service is about you. it isn't about them. it is not about enriching themselves, it is about making people live as better.

by giving people a chance, just an even shot, not guarantee but an even shot. it is time to start rewarding work and not wealth. and if you listen to jon and the reverend, that is what they've been seeing and campaigning on. look, i'm dealing with covid. i'm revitalizing our any, our health care, our voting rights, criminal justice and climate change, and the things that matter and that will make a difference in your lives an the lives of your families. georgia, as dark as these days of winter seem, i'm still more optimistic about this country than any time in my entire life. i really mean it. the american people now understand clearly what is at stake. and jon and rafael share that optimism. they saw hand the power of

believing in the promise of america. and our darkest months, jon learned it from my old friend and years john lewis. reverend warnock sees the power of faith to overcome the toughest trials that life could throw at us. he believes as he do, in the quote of the german fill philos who said faith sees best in the dark. i know they share with me that deep faith in the american people in this country. a faith that will enable us to overcome adversity to lift each other and be a beacon of light for one another and for the world. that is who we are and that is who should never give up on. look, folks, i've said it many times and i'll say it again, there is nothing, nothing, nothing, this country is unable

to do when we decide to do it together. we have faced tougher times before. and we've always overcome. we've always overcome. we've always come out better than when we went in, no matter what. i know these campaigns have been exhausting. you put the hard work in to get to this moment. it is been intense, it's been nonstop. but i'm asking to you give everything you've got one more day, one more day. and that one more day is not hyperbole, you could change america. so if you haven't voted -- vote. if you already voted, then i ask you one more day of making calls, and safely knocking on doors. go to i will vote.com/ga to find

your polling location just like you did in november. vote, vote, vote. vote for jon an the reverend. vote. in america, as our opposition friends are finding out, all power flows from the people. from the people. that is our history. that is our law and our tradition and our constitution. that is our democracy. politicians cannot assert, take or seize power. power is given, granted by the american people alone. and we can never give that up. it is always, always the will of the people that must prevail. so today, tomorrow, vote. make sure your voice is heard. do it for yourself, do it for

your families, for your children, for your state, for your country, do it for all those who have given up so much. think of all of those who have given up so much to secure that right. do it for the country you love. because i know you love this country. and the future you want to build for everyone in this country. do it for all of those around the world who aspire like us to be free and a democratic people who look to us. i've been in over almost 100 countries. they all look to america. the power, the power is in your hands. jon and reverend warnock are counting on you. so it kamala and so i and so is

america. we're a nation built on honor, decency and dignity and respect. america is and must continue to be a beacon of light, liberty and democracy and unity. that is who we are. that is the united states of america. vote, vote, vote, vote. god bless you all and may god protect our troops. thank you, thank you, thank you. >> hi, again, everyone. it is just 5:00 in the east. you're listening to a rousing speech there from president-elect joe biden. he's campaigning in atlanta, georgia, on the eve of the senate runoff elections that will determine which party controls the united states senate. biden there stressing the importance in electing senators who are loyal to georgia, loyal to the constitution, getting a big round of applause from

defending the constitution a stark contrast from the transparent bid by donald trump to steal an election he decisively lost. and that call yesterday when he asked georgia officials to somehow find the votes to flip the state into a win for him. an attack on our democracy and the foundational principles of america. to those members of the president's party, we ask, how do you rationalize what you heard from donald trump? how do you support a man pressuring state election officials to find ballots somewhere, somehow, for him. democrats have responded by asking christopher wray to open a criminal probe into trump's call. but it is still stunning that a group of republicans have shown they'll go to any length to defend the man who is now restarting so strong arming local officials to try to get what he wants. these are the 11 republican senators who have said they will

join senator josh hawley when congress convenes to count the votes on wednesday. it is a position viewed this way by a former standard bearer of the republican party, former house speaker and vice presidential candidate paul ryan who said this, quote, it is difficult to conceive of a more anti-democratic anti-conservative act than a federal intervention to overturn the results of state-certified elections and disenfranchise millions of americans. it is a move that should force us to re-evaluate the party plitdicco said. it is past time we rear formed our political terminology. we should no long for the rest of the careers refer to any of these republican objectors as conservatives. they are radicals. they are extremists. there is nothing conservative about subverting democracy. however not everyone in trump's party has signed on to this effort.

even some trump allies now saying oh, no, this one, this one is too far. people like senator tom cotton who put out a statement saying that le not object to the counting of the electoral college and it reads ifn part, nevertheless, the foundersin entrusted our elections to the states not congress, they entrusted our election to the president to the people acting through the electorate college, not congress. under the constitution and federal law congress's power is limited to counting electoral votes submitted by the states. if congress per pouurported to turn the results of the electoral college, it would exceed. lashing at cotton today, john bolton tweet add parentally doctor's last goal is to tear apart his party. he's lightning the torch to his own political funeral by

attacking republicans who dare not kiss his ring. among those would wouldn't, those so arm lad by the commander-in-chief that this weekend they penned on op-ed warning against using the military to overturn the election results. a party divided over whether to support the leader and in his latest flagrant attempt to undermine democracy is where we start this hour. claire mccaskill is here. also joining us, aaron blake from "the washington post" and a.b. stoddard editor for real clear politics and slayer of the insane people on other programs on other networks. let me start with you senator mccaskill. i don't know where to start. what you hear in joe biden is a disciplined politician with an economic message and a commitment to the constitution and democracy that used to not

provide a contrast with the other party. but today in those live remarks we started off with, it does. >> yeah. i don't even know where to start either. i could start -- >> take your time. >> i mean, these senators, first of all, they know better. second of all, they know what they're proposing to do is fake and phony. a ten-day audit. what is that? they don't have the ability to do that. it is not even their job. it is the state's job. as tom cotton said, to administer election. and these votes have been counted and recounted and challenged in court. and so the dirty dozen, the 12 of them, are just showing that they do not care about anything except radicalism, extremism, and they're own political careers. they could care -- and i'm really surprised at a few of

them like jim langford and newly elected senators what aren't asking whether it be roy blunt or whether it be jerry moran or richard shelby from alabama, all of these senators have senior senators that are not doing what they're doing. and some of them, i mean, have been a senator for ten minutes. it is just unbelievable to me that they are trashing their career this way. and, david perdue, he should get defeated tomorrow just on what he said today, that somehow the problem with the tape was that it was recorded. i mean, this is a president who has made lying his entree. and what these people are cokpeer tors in his life and he's using it to undermine our

democracy and that the thing that we rely on most heavily in this country and that is the will of the people. >> claire, i remember debating policies with you when you were in the senate and i was a frequent guest on morning joe. and one thing that i thought when i listened to the one hour i think four minute trump taip is that it is on all of thaus it got to this. it is on anyone who didn't call trump a liar out of the gate. on anyone who thought there were two sides to the trump story. there never were. there were not two sides to the firing of james comey. because i wanted to break laws and thought comey won't help him do that and cover it up. there is so much that brought us to this point. but i want to focus in on something you just said. because this election tomorrow as joe biden said will determine which parties controls the senate. here is the smear that senator

perdue, one of the republicans in the runoff tomorrow night launched against republican secretary of state brad raffensburger on fox news. let's listen. >> well let me say something about the secretary of state. i did say it was disgusting. the fact -- i guess i was raised differently. my ma'om and dad were school teachers. but to have a party to tape without disclosing a conversation, a private conversation with the president of the united states and then leaking it to the press, now it disgusting. >> so, again, claire, we're back at this place where the -- there is a potential crime committed by donald trump on the phone call. but his republican accomplices have always been successful and finding some other terrain on which to fight and he's attacking raffensburger for sharing this with his own

constituents. what does that por tend with how you think georgia will vote tomorrow. >> well i don't -- we're so nervous about georgia because it is hard to really trust any of the polling after some of the polling that we saw both in 2018 and 2020. so i think all of us who are hopeful are trying to keep our expectations low so we could be pleasantly surprised if, in fact, the democrats pull this off. but purdue is helping here. what is disgusting is him. we've had a president just try to do the most blatantly immoral -- forget about illegal, the most blatantly immoral thing a president of the united states could do and that is try to put pressure on election official to change the results of an election. that is immoral. and i believe, as andrew said, it should be investigate as

potentially illegal. and he wants to talk about the fact that the secretary of state released the tape after trump lied about what was said, after trump lied again about what the facts in georgia, and after trump clearly talked about the conversation in a way that totally was unfair to the secretary of state. he was smart to tape the conversation, it was perfectly legal and it was even smarter to let the american people get a front row seat to the tawdry reality that donald trump has become including all of the people who are making excuses for him and have for four years. >> claire, i'm thinking of the impeachment proceedings that you and i sat next to each other and watched and i believe felt a lot of sadness at what was before everyone's eyes was a clear abuse of power on the part of donald trump. a lot of your former colleagues even the republican ones said that that is what they say too. they didn't want to even hear from john bolton who could have been an effective witness in

proving that case. alexander vindman has spoken out about the call, the pattern of calls that get hidden. in this case what senator purdue wanted was for the call to be hidden from the public and his own constituents but does it place more pressure on a biden department to investigate some of trump's abuses of power. >> it probably does. and i hope the local prosecutor does the same thing. state law, i think, would be these elections were administered by duly elected republican state officials. and the district attorney orp the prosecuting attorney whatever they are called in georgia, in georgia has a statute to work with. and it would be clean, i think, for it to be done at the state level because then it doesn't lend itself to nationalizing a criminal investigation of what the facts are and what the law is when it is applied.

so i think it is hard not to investigate something as bad as this is. please listen to the whole tape, everyone. don't take a shortcut. don't just -- especially if you've got somebody in your family convincing you that if you heard the whole tape it wouldn't be as bad. the whole tape will make you want to throw up. it will make you want to throw up. >> truer words. a.b. stoddard, who ventured into alternate reality yesterday, just talk about the disinformation that has been pumped into the eco-system. we've got the mayor of washington, d.c. warning people about coming to the district of district of columbia on wednesday because of threats of violence. we've got -- it makes news now when republicans do their jobs, when republican secretaries of state have the courage to do their job and ratify the votes of peoples of their state as opposed to disenfranchising large numbers of them.

and paul ryan, we're not going to throw him a parade on this show but has finally broken his year's long silence and spoken out against the fellow colleagues. where are we? >> it comes back as you said, it all comes back to the lies. and so the republicans were going to give credit to this week for standing up in what should be a saceremony and perfunctory role in changing, it belies the fact that they are not actually leveling with the voters. so thank you, liz cheney and mike lee and mitt romney and paul ryan and roger wicker and all of the people who are stand ing up, chip roy of texas, who used to work for ted cruz

because if there was systemic fraud in their states they certainly can't serve in congress. a lot of people telling the truth but not telling the voters that they have been lied to on a massive scale by the president and his campaign allies and right wing media. after the republicans say, well, phew, our democracy held and we're beyond the election, the fact that millions will believe this and tom cotton won't tell their voter that they've been lied to and mitch mcconnell won't tell those voters facts, will persist and damage our governance for a very long time and it permits the next demagogue who is smarter than trump to use the same weapon of disinformation and lies that despots around the world use. so this is the problem long-term that nobody on the republican side even if they're defying

donald trump and making headlines this week, want to talk about. that they know basically that josh hally is doing this and ted cruz is doing this because the voters believe the president's lies so now they are so upset we have to make them upset more and raise money off of them and curry favor for them and run for president as they're base because we can't turn around and tell them that all of this stuff was a load of crap like brad raffensburger is doing in georgia. no, we can't do that. so i'm glad that mitt romney and all of these people are saying, you know, really bold things. and pointing out that hawley and cruise are anilist and doing it for their own political ambition but not talking about the poison of disinformation and until we do we'll get nowhere with this. >> i mean it is such an important point, aaron blake and i feel like you've been on this

beat for a long time. especially when it was first coming from russia and now all coming from today's gop. i want to show you one of the aforementioned republicans who is trying to tell the truth and meeting a lot of resistance from donald trump. here is gabriel sterling who is an election official in georgia first sort of rose to national prominence when he to the microphone and said that trump's lies will get someone killed. let's listen to him today. i'm sorry, we've got brad raffensburger who spoke out. let's listen to brad raffensburger. >> you think he's taking shots from people and people put out stuff that is not true and we're going to respond and respond forcefully sometimes with the facts. and if people can't handle the facts, i'm sorry, but those are the facts. >> so that was your office releasing the call in response

to the president's tweet. >> i don't know how it got released but i do know that it got release and it is out there and the better for it and everyone could listen to the whole 1:08 call we have with the president. >> so that was brad raffensburger, who was the recipient of call and the interview that i think took place after the press conference today that went point by point with the piece of poster board with all of the disinformation to pick up on a.b.'s point from the call yesterday. it is an uphill battle, though. aaron, where are we if the political figures and the media folks who interviewed the political figures on the right aren't sort of trafficking in the same truths as rest of us on planet earth are. >> yeah, i think over the last 24 hours what we've begun to see is this kind of conservative pushback on the electorate

college gam bit with the defense secretaries all speaking out. but not from the likes of the people is the kind of things that we're hearing from brad raffensburger which is that these are completely baseless allegations. need things have been disproven. even in their statements congress roy said he harbored significant concerns about the election. tom cotton said very much the same thing. we're in this kind of situation where these republican members of congress maybe disagree with how to proceed with objections to the election. but they don't necessarily disagree with the substance of the claims. we hear over and over again these republicans who are going to move forward with this. not necessarily saying that there is voter fraud but saying there are many people who are concerned about it. so there is not even a disagreement about the substance of the allegations. there is just a procedural disagreement between these republican members of congress.

and the things that you're seeing in that clip from brad raffensburger still are not being given voice to by the vast majority of republicans and i think it is significant that tom cotton and chip roy and liz cheney are doing this because it maybe gives their party a bit of an off-ramp from going whole hog in on this strategy but at the same time they're not necessarily getting -- laying waste to the underlying claims here and until republicans more forcefully do that it will lend credence to the campaign which was really a lot of people questioning from the beginning whether the president was trying to overturn the results or he just wanted to a talking point after the election to say he never lost in the first place. so i think the republicans are not willing to go there with the president and gently trying to pull the party away from the ledge but it is still a very delicate dance. >> it is so interesting. it is the ledge that they build and pushed their party to and as

you've all soel kwe eloquently that jumping might hurt but off-ramps is not something that many have looked for. three people i've been dying to talk to for about 24 hours. thank you for starting us off this hour. when we come back, democrats are asking the fbi director to investigate whether donald trump broke the law when he pressured the secretary of state to find the votes he would need to win the state. the top democrat on the senate intelligence committee joins us next. plus bracing for violence. trump is calling for right wing propertiers to take to the streets of washington. now the mayor is urging residents of her city not engage. and frightening new data on the uc u.k. variant and what it could mean. don't go anywhere. (kids laughing)

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but, the ballots are corrupt. and you're going to find that they are and which is totally illegal. it is's more illegal for you than it is for them. because you know what they do and you're not reporting it. that is a criminal -- that is a criminal offense. and you know, you can't let that happen. that is a big risk to you and to ryan, your lawyer. that is a big risk. >> that is part of his attempt to get the georgia secretary of state, brad raffensburger, to find enough votes to overturn the election results in georgia and went to far as to find that

rarve w raffensburger ras committing a crime. to two house democrats are asking christopher wray to open a criminal probe into the phone call. joining us now is mark warner of virginia. he's the vice chairman of the senate intelligence committee. thank you for spending some time with us. it is an unbelievable state of affairs but first reaction to donald trump on that call. do you think a crime is worth investigating there? >> you can't make this stuff up. it is outrageous. i'll leave the lawyers to make the decision what kind of legal jeopardy trump may be in. i will say this, from the senate intelligence committee perspective, our bipartisan report about not only what happened in 2016 with russian intervention, but that we said going forward america officials should be very careful about questioning the legitimacy of our election because it plays directly into the narrative of

vald mere putin and trump and hissin ableires are doing that bitting one more time. >> and at someone who looked at russia question in 2016 than just about anyone on earth, what do you think about the fact that donald trump took what russia did and details in your committee report and the mueller report and asked his audacity and his shamelessness and if you listen to the call you have to add stupidity, to the conduct. and now we have at least 12 senators who plan to question the single foundation of our democracy on wednesday. did you ever think that trump would study the russian attack and improve upon it? >> well, the remarkable thing is, our government did a pretty good job this election cycle about keeping foreign disinformation out of the process. and americans turned out for the election in record numbers.

the system worked. and what we could have never predicted is that the center of disinformation and misinformation was coming from 1600 pennsylvania avenue. where donald trump and his enablers were spewing this falsehoods, thank goodness we so say the system held because judges, including appointees by trump, pushed back. republican officials pushed back. local election officials pushed back. but it was still pretty amazing. this guy's audacity now enabled by 12 colleagues that aren't offering any evidence. they simply want to cleat the american people. >> it makes me think hard and reexamine some of our own reporting around impeachment. it was reported that some

republicans said that it was an abuse abuse of power and that an election is now not good enough. what is the permanent damage of 12 u.s. senators two of them who have their names on election so fraudulent they won't go forward with certifying the electoral college, what stain does that lead on the country that joe biden is going to have to try to govern. >> i think it is going to be hard for joe biden. and i could bemoan those in the house and the fact that there were close to 40 republicans who at the end of day will stand up for the democratic process. i could point to the fact that even through the midst of once again donald trump trying to sabotage a covid relief package, we got 92 senators to vote in favor of the that relief, not as much as would you like to see go out to the american public but

the system did work. i'm not apologizing or standing up, as a matter of fact, i think the 12 senators are trying to cheat the american public from the results of the election and undermine our democracy. but i do think at the end of the day, there are good people of good will in both parties and i think the best at tribute that joe biden brings to the table at this moment in time, is that sense of human empathy, that willingness to try to reach out a hand to try to work with folks who may not fully agree with and i hope and pray there will be a lot of us in both parties who will try to get the job done. i want to sound pollyana-ish, but this is so so great we could bemoan that or pick up the pieces on wednesday in the aftermath but importantly on january 20th when joe biden and kamala harris are sworn in as next president and vice president and make sure we get

in country fixed. >> you work and know more about intelligence and now the intelligence community functions and how sts strained under donald trump. devin nunes is going to receive the presidential medal of freedom and making fools out of the 12 republican senators. for anyone who not an expert in devin nunes, you could talk about his role in trying to thwart and the price he paid. >> i'm not going comment on a certain colleague but i will say the house effort when it was controlled by mr. nunes put forward nothing of merit, nothing that was factual. unlike the senate committee which was bipartisan virtually

unanimous in each one of our five reports that laid out not only what the russians did but how we prevent that going forward, how recognize the threat that social media plays and how our intelligence services need to pick up their game and the concern i have for our intelligence community which at the end of day the most important job is to speak truth to power and this president didn't want to hear that truth. and i really respect talking about cia, nsa, the fbi in terms of our domestic services, they have hung in but they've been under brutal assault from an administration that didn't want to hear the truth and particularly didn't want to hear the truth when it involved vladimir putin. >> and that bipartisan report will go down as one of the more remarkable documents of the trump presidency including the kompromat section. about what russia had to work

with came from your committee bipartisan report. senator mark warner, thank you for spending time to us today on a blustery news day. we're grateful. when we come back, violence is growing ahead of wednesday's vote by congress to certify joe biden's victory. that story is next. next?... eh, not enough fiber... chocolate would be good... snacking should be sweet and simple. the delicious taste of glucerna gives you the sweetness you crave while helping you manage your blood sugar. with nutrients to help support immune health. with nutrients to help ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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the nation's capital is on edge ahead of expected pro-trump

protest on wednesday. mayor muriel bouse ser beefing up security and asking residents to steer clear tomorrow and wednesday and also skplies italy asking them to avoid engaging with demonstrators. recent gatherings by far right groups in d.c. have resulted in violence. several stabbings and the burning of black lives matter banners at churches there. professor of journalism and contributor and olivia troy on the coronavirus task force as well as an adviser on homeland security and counter terrorism now a contributor to the anti-trumpism group, defending democracy together. olivia, i'm talking to you first, asking how you great the threat of violence is? >> well, first, nicolle, happy new year to you.

i think watching the trend in the past two and half years while i covered this as the vice president's homeland security adviser i have watched the rise of domestic terrorism rise before our very eyes in our country and i think it is no to doubt detectively related to the rhetoric of the current president and his insight and this who is unfortunately part of hi -- his base. and i'm concerned about what happen this week in d.c. and i've been advocating for people to stay home and not take the bait from those groups. i know that that is what they look for. and that is what i think we should watch closely what the president said tonight at his rally and the language that he uses. i'm concerned for the safety of the georgia election officials and the secretary of state and

what he said about gabriel sterling. >> yeah. i mean jellany, the president's enthusiasm in the public record includes quotes like rough them up, i'll pay for your lawyer at his own rallies when protesters were escorted out. he said stand by to the proud boys when he was asked a direct question by chris wallace at the first debate. so there may be private comments that are different, i doubt it. they will probably contend that there are. but what is in the public record is what supporters hear and do you have any sort of last -- is there anything that anyone could do in terms of calling for calm? it seems to me that if you're a republican and you're not for violence, and i'm guessing there are some still, it is your job to go on fox news and rush limbaugh and sean hannity and say that, isn't it. >> sure.

but i don't expect that to happen any more than i expect people to adhere to the other ethic ethic ethical responsibilities ore the course of the past four years. and in terms of the propensity potential for violence in the upcoming rally, i suggest we pay attention to the june 1st incident when the helicopter had the low flying episode over lafayette park intimidating peaceful protesters for the publicity stunt of the president walking across street and holding a bible upside down. and even at that point, i think a lot of people saw that incident as disturbing in its own right. but also as what it might preface as to whether or not there was a test run for some other deployment of military force or some other federal force for whatever purposes he might deem. and so i think, yeah, we should be concerned about this possibility. >> the ten living former

secretaries secretaries of defense share your concern. they have an op-ed inspired by dick cheney warning that the military should not be involved. you could say your concerns based on what we saw the military to do about the protests in lafayette square. >> sure. and i would add senator tom cotton to that although he's not joining with the effort to delegitimatize the election. and unidentified federal officers who were in portland making arrests and pulling people off of the street. and it all kinds of things that come with being a democracy. and so there are a lot of people on the left who have an encyclopedia of differences with

disk cheney but when he said we are close to the precipice of damaging democracy, that should tell you something across the political spectrum. >> words i never thought i would here. olivia, you have me thinking about radicalized people in our country. not everyone who is radicalized commits violence in the name of their cause. but this process of radicalization, it is oxygen is disinformation. and what trump is still pumping into the eco-system and his supporters are still pumping into conservative outlets and trump media and social media and the other places they've off loaded themselves is mounts of mountains of disinformation. if you're out there and believe their lies, of course your mad. houp does the process begin to turn down the radicalization by shutting off the oxygen, and the disinformation, how do we do that domestically at a country? >> i think you counter this with

the truth and facts. and it is very hard once this great disinformation campaign that we have and unfortunately when you have someone in the oval office, who is the president of the united states, who is contributing to that dialogue in just a manner, that is fundamentally one of the primary risks for our democracy and our country. and so i'm hopeful that things will start to hopefully tamper down once joe biden takes office and gets inaugurated and we could start to move forward and feel some of these sentiments in our country. and i'm concerned that this kind of wave that is happened, the trumpism, the supporters, the sort of rhetoric and this disinformation that is just factual the conspiracies, the qanon believers that are all in, they are all in whether trump goes away or not, he has started the embers of this movement in a way that it will be very hard to

counter. >> jelani cobb and olivy troy talking dick cheney violence and radicalization on the first show of the new year. what a yearing it is going to . when we return, new data about the highly contagious coronavirus variant first discovered in great britainan and now confirmed in another u.s. state. that story with lori garrett next. h lori garrett next ♪ we made usaa insurance for veterans like martin. when a hailstorm hit, he needed his insurance to get it done right, right away. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa

yeah? who's peter? well sweetie, he's your great-great grandfather. here, does he look like me? yeah. your family's story is waiting to be shared. at ancestry.com today the growing threat of the new highly transmissible covid variant first identified in the u.k. andrew cuomo announced this afternoon that new york is now the fourth state to confirm a case. here is the shocking reality of what a 70% more infectious covid actually means. the u.k. prime minister is putting england on national

lockdown today. today until mid-february, while daily case numbers form a climbing vertical line there. new infects in the u.k. this past week were up nearly 50%. from the week before. and 92% from the week before that. it is all push the u.k. to accelerate the number of people getting the first vaccine dose. delaying the second doses for up to 12 weeks. for pfizer vaccine that is four times longer than the recommending three weeks. only amount of time tested by scientists. joining our conversation, lori garrett, health policy analyst and one of our favorite people to turn to on the days when the news makes us very afraid. today is one of those days, lori. >> yes, indeed. well, nicolle, i wish we only have one variant to wore why about. the u.k. variant. which as you said has dramatically, dramatically

increased the speed of spread of the virus within the u.k. to the degree that now they're talking about running out of vaccine and stretching it out over a longer period of time, perhaps foregoing second dose boosters entirely or at least for month months to come because the crisis is so grave. well, meanwhile, the minister of health of the u.k. today said, hey, you think we've got a tough varnt variant, see the one in south africa and he thought it might not be amenable to responding to existing vaccines. that the south african strain was so heavily mutated that the spikes that stick out on the surface of the virus, that are what the antibodies attach to, were completely misshapen and would not be recognized by the antibodies that are produced by the vaccines that are counturre

available. south africa disputsed this but this is the state that we're in right now. >> lori, i want to ask you two questions and just give you some time to talk about both. is there anything that is happening in the u.k. that hasn't happened here, too? and one of the things that they're going to do in the u.k., i think schools are a brighter spot than expected in terms of not necessarily being super spreader venues. the u.k. has moved to closed primary schools. do you see, one, everything that is happening in the u.k. eventually happening here. and two, do you think that shutting down all schools that aren't already shut down is inevitable here? >> well, nicolle, the key difference between the u.s. and the u.k. is they have a national policy and we don't. they have nationally leadership of public health and we do not. they have national singular

uniform policy set out through the socialized medicine program as detectors call it, the national health service, we have nothing of the kind. so, i don't think it is possible, really, to compare how the two countries would respond because in our case it is up to every single state to come up with their own strategy. for example here in new york as we face the new variant having confirmed in new york state, the governor today swore that within two weeks every resident of nursing homes in the entire state plus all tstaff will be fully vaccinateds or have received the first dose. that is a remarkable promise. we'll see if he could keep it. many other states have made completely different decisions. florida, for example, anyone over 65 could get vaccinated whether they're out surfing and full bodied adult or they're infirm and nonam beulahtory.

so there arin consistenties and there is impossible to announce a national lockdown policy given our fragmented our response rea attention to is not the uk, it's israel. pay to is . pay to i entire nation by the end of january with possibly both doses, and is pushing ahead at lightning speed. now there is an example. of course, israel does have a national policy, and israel does have one of those socialized medicine situations with the national health policy, which, again, we don't have >> have you right now more hopeful or more frightened >> well, i think the next six to

eight weeks are going to be terrifying in the united states. and i think i know who is trying to convey rose-tinted glasses view of what we're going go through between now and march is just not paying ttention we're going to see our death tolls skyrocket. we're going to see case numbers and just as we have already seen one h blunder after another, on ineptitude after another in getting vaccines where they need to go t and into the arms of the who need them, that will continue. there will be improvements in some states, but it will not be uniform. and we're going to see just a really tough, tough period as the cumulative impact of thanksgiving, christmas and new year's slamsne us across the nation. >> laurie garrett, you always expand the horizons on

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thank you for letting us into your homes during these truly extraordinary times. we are grateful. "the beat" with my colleague ari melber starts right now. hi, ari. >> hi, nicolle. thank you so much. welcome to "the beat." i am ari melber, and we begin with donald trump's explosive new attacks on, yes, our united states democracy. this has been caught on tape. it echoes some of the darkest episodes of his presidency. if you didn't know so already, here we are. welcome to 2021. it's days before congress will convene to formally certify the election. that is a formality because everything is over and done. but the president continues to push the doomed effort to nullify joe biden's win. tonight it's setting off a firestorm, even though donald trump has zero legal paths left. donald trump placing what